Hampton keeps its composure in bounce-back win over Gloucester

Hampton High coach Mike Smith saw plenty of good in Thursday night’s 35-27 win over Gloucester.

For one, in the midst of a season in which so much has gone wrong, the Crabbers kept their poise when the Dukes took a 21-14 lead less than two minutes into the third quarter. And for two, with victory in hand but actions on the field getting out of hand, Smith’s kids kept their cool and didn’t do anything stupid.

Though the Dukes played a solid game on both sides of the ball, Gloucester became unglued with four personal-foul penalties in the final three minutes. The game was stopped with 54 seconds left after a Dukes player was ejected for a cheap shot on Hampton quarterback Jovonn Quillen.

With just over a minute left, Hampton was in the victory formation deep in Gloucester territory. Quillen took the snap and dropped to one knee, but a Dukes defender leapt over the line and drilled him. Hampton’s players and bench were upset, and some words were exchanged.

“That’s totally out of the scope of football,” Smith said. “And my quarterback is still suffering from it. It bothers me. There’s no place for that kind of stuff.”

The officiating crew wisely decided to call it a game even though 54 seconds remained. There was no handshake line.

“Our kids have been playing extremely hard the last couple of weeks, and a lot of frustrations were coming out,” Gloucester coach Brandon Kelley said. “Ending that way is obviously what we don’t want to do. We let a couple of things get to us that shouldn’t have happened.”

Kelley wouldn’t identify the player who was ejected. Under VHSL rules, he would be suspended for Gloucester’s next game (Friday against Kecoughtan at Darling Stadium) pending an appeal.

As for the game itself, the star of the night was Tyquon Wilkins, who caught five passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. His 84-yard reception from Quillen gave Hampton a 28-21 lead with 1:25 left in the third quarter.

“This was a big move for those kids,” Smith said. “Earlier in the year when they got knocked down, they wouldn’t get up. But they got behind and they really came back and played hard. It seemed like the guys just said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to win this game.’ And they won the game.”

Patriots keep building

If ever there was a prime setting for a letdown, Friday night was it for Denbigh. The Patriots were coming off an historic win over Hampton the previous week. And their opponent was Menchville, a team that has won only once this season.

Yet Denbigh was hot from the start and cruised to a 56-0 win behind Terrence Dingle’s four touchdown passes. The defense pitched its second shutout, the first time that’s happened in Marcellus Harris III’s six seasons.

“The guys came out and were excited,” Harris said. “They wanted to prove a point. They didn’t want there to be any letdown after our victory last week. Our guys still play with a chip on their shoulder. They feel they have a lot to prove.”

Denbigh (6-2) clinched its first winning season since 2006 and only its eighth in 49 seasons of football.

Too much laundry

At 7-1, Phoebus is doing many things right. Marshawn Williams is running away with the district rushing title, the defense has allowed 21 points in its last four games, and Terrell Toliver’s emergence has given the Phantoms a legitimate passing threat.

One thing Phoebus isn’t doing right: Avoiding penalties. In Friday night’s 35-14 win over Woodside, the Phantoms were flagged 14 times for 117 yards. That’s not an anomaly: In its eight games, Phoebus has had at least 100 yards of penalties in four. Twice more, it had 90.

For the season, the Phantoms are averaging 12 flags for 96 yards. But for Friday night, at least, Phoebus coach Jeremy Blunt wasn’t sure the calls were legit.

“Those yellow flags were on the field the whole night,” he said. “I felt it was lopsided. There were certainly some discrepancies out there, in my opinion. But, you know, it’s only my opinion.”

Saturday showdown

In a rarity, the Game of the Year in the Peninsula District will fall on a Saturday. Which, generally speaking, is the worst day of the week to draw a decent crowd.

Maybe this time will be different. Phoebus (7-1, 7-0) vs. Heritage (8-0, 7-0), 1 p.m. Oct. 26 at Todd Stadium. The winner takes a big step toward the mythical Peninsula District championship. More important, the winner all but clinches the No. 1 seed in Group 4A South.

“Can’t wait,” Hurricanes coach George Massenburg said. “We’re excited about it. It’s been a long time since Heritage has been in this position.”

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